EASTON, Pa. — Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure called on state lawmakers Tuesday to pass a budget and pay counties for mandatory social services.
He said his administration would not take a loan to fill the gap left by withheld state funding — something other government agencies, including Easton, have done.
The county is now waiting on more than $12 million from the state, McClure wrote in a statement. Without reimbursements to cover the cost of providing mandatory social services, governments have scrambled for other ways to pay employees and providers.
“It’s past time for the General Assembly to do its job; Northampton County families cannot wait any longer,” McClure said. “The Legislature created this mess. Passing the budget is the simple, fair solution. Stop forcing counties and local taxpayers to shoulder the burden.”
Worker furloughs approaching
Northampton County notified human services workers last month that it may furlough virtually the whole department starting Oct. 20.
McClure said furloughs would only be instituted as a “last resort,” and some essential services would continue to operate.
County officials have also stopped paying nonprofits and companies contracted to provide services. Smaller organizations, in particular, are struggling to make ends meet as a result without large portions of their annual revenue, officials acknowledged.
“That was not a choice we made lightly. While necessary to manage our limited resources, it is having real, negative impacts on our community,” McClure said.
Recovery Partnership, one such nonprofit offering mental health and substance abuse support in Easton and Bethlehem, has already had to lay off much of its staff, CEO Scott Kiefer said.
McClure has drawn criticism from county employees, union officials and County Controller Tara Zrinski for declining to take out a loan to temporarily pay employees and contractors.
McClure doubles down
In late September, State Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced short-term bridge loans at 4.5% interest, meant to hold county governments, rape crisis centers and pre-K programs over until a budget is in place.
McClure doubled down Tuesday on rejecting those loans.
“Asking counties to take on more debt with interest to cover the state’s obligations is not a solution."County Executive Lamont McClure
“Asking counties to take on more debt with interest to cover the state’s obligations is not a solution. It just passes the problem onto local taxpayers, and that’s not an option for Northampton County,” he said in Tuesday's statement.
McClure also criticized a Senate bill granting the state treasurer authority to forgive interest on the state-issued bridge loans.
“The way the bill is written, there’s no guarantee the interest will actually be forgiven. Instead, it gives the state treasurer discretion to decide who gets relief. That’s not good enough,” McClure said.
State senators approved the measure last week. The House Appropriations Committee, next scheduled to meet Oct. 27, has not yet taken up the bill.
Pennsylvania’s General Assembly is required to adopt a budget by the end of June each year. Without a budget authorizing spending, most payments from the state government grind to a halt.
Members of the Democrat-controlled House have approved several budget proposals, which the Republican-led Senate have so far rejected as spending too much.
The two bodies have so far been unable to reach a compromise after more than 100 days of negotiations. Democrats tend to blame the Senate, while Republicans generally blame the House.
Most recently, the House voted Oct. 8 to approve a new $50.25 million budget — about $300 million less than a version the chamber passed in July, and $2.4 billion larger than the 2024-2025 budget. Initially, Gov. Josh Shapiro introduced a $51.5 billion proposal.
The state Senate has not yet taken up the measure. In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, R-Armstrong/Indiana/Jefferson/Westmoreland, criticized the latest offer as irresponsible, and said it takes “steps backwards, not forward.”
